Secret Missions
by Kokiri-Hylian-Hero
Summary: Rick has been on many dangerous quests before, but when he answers the call of a quest with a mysterious client requesting a High Rank Guild hunter, he finds two ex-huntresses in Bnahabra armors who engage him in battle, and soon embarks on a hunt for a mysterious faction targeting high rank hunters and the leaders of the Hunter's Guild and attempts to stop it before it's too late.
1. Visions in Your Eyes, Shadows on the Wal

**Visions in Your Eyes, Shadows on the Wall**

**Visions in Your Eyes, Shadows on the Wall**

The hunter stared at the few pieces of armor the outfitter had in stock. It was good for a start, he admitted, but after having been given a pickaxe, found that he preferred to gather materials for his own weapons and armor. Besides, it would net him a few more resource points.

"Maybe another day." He said, though that was more him hoping that, unlike the last outfitter he meet, this one could order armor that required rarer monster parts, even if it was ten percent more expensive than if he had had it forged himself.

He tapped his gauntlets impatiently as he scanned the square for whoever he was looking for, then took out some files from his back pocket and paged through, and stopped on a page which followed: "Dear Hunter's Guild, I have heard you have an Elite Hunter who has recently attained the rank of Master. If you could send them over I would be much obliged, sincerely, an Old Friend."

His mind flashed back to an earlier mission, a large, golden monster, underwater battle, and a group of hunters who had only just been titled "Elite", and then the voice of a dead man. Supposed at the time, and though untrue then, it was now true, he was sure it was a coincidence that someone would call themselves as such, and for the sake of anonymity, while still conveying the sense that this person was known to him, but even then they could have chosen anything else, why tell him that he knows this person, yet give no further clues unless the discovery of identity was imminent?

Suddenly the sound of an explosion echoed through the plaza. He turned his eyes to every corner until he sought the source elsewhere, then saw two women, both in Bnahabra armor, one for gunners, the other for blademasters, he smirked and shook his head, "How does milady fare this evening?"

"Quite well, I see you got our request...Rick, was it?"

"Should I know you, or are you confusing me with another?"

"You don't, but you should."

"Ah, well, I see she has her maid on duty...and just what are we doing?"

"Trying to kill the leaders of the Hunter's Guild."

"Ah, I see, that can't stand."

"It will, Hunter."

"Very well, then, Giggi."

"Don't call me by the name of such a disgusting creature…besides, I'm not aligned with that particular…faction."

"Then pray, with which faction are thou aligned?"

"Oh, how charming," one said while pulling a switchaxe off her back, "but you really should have said 'art', not 'are'."

"Many apologizes, your grace, now if you'd lay down your weapons no one will be hurt." He said as he pulled Cryo Cross out of its sheath and stood, watching the two women and planning to attack or counter, waiting for them to make the first move, "Or you could try to kill me here."

The gunner pulled out a bow and arrow, "Bow before milady or somebody will be hurt!" Rick held his shield up to meet the arrow, which spun back off the shield's surface when it crashed into it.

"You could poke an eye out if you're not careful, Ella, though I suppose that was the goal, wasn't it?"

"Sorry, Madame Melody, I'll get him soon!"

"Very well, I'll occupy our guests." Melody ran over to Rick and swung forward, he rolled off to the side and turned around in time to see a bow pointing at him, a second later and another arrow crashed off his shield, he turned around and saw the switchaxe swing towards him. He let go of the shield, which was still strapped to his arm, and grabbed the handle of his blade with both hands swinging the blade down and catching the curve of the axe, the woman holding the axe let the head of her weapon down and pulled it back up, transforming it as Rick bounced another arrow off his shield.

"There, now it's time to end this little dance!" Melody sang out happily as her blade curved through the air, a wispy sound heard as he leapt behind her view, and rolled forward, the roll sparing him from the tip of the switched blade. Rick looked up, befuddled by the archer charging at him, piercing his armor with an arrow.

Rick gasped in anguish as she tore it out of his shoulder. He yelled in pain and anger as he performed a round slash, she leapt away and gazed behind him, he turned and rolled out of the way in time to see the long blade pass in front of him, he gulped down a potion and winced as an arrow smashed into his shield, the sensation reverberating throughout his arm.

"Oh, so close!" Ella whined as she drew yet another arrow, "Oh well, let's try that again!"

"No, let's really not." Rick said, aggravated as he dodged the switchaxe, which had now reverted to its axe form.

Rick slammed his shoulder into Melody, knocking her to the ground, and took her switchaxe and turned it into its long sword form.

Rick dodged the archer's arrows for a while, eventually she was close to a wall, and then he lunged forward, letting his blade fly against the wall while she ran the opposite direction of where the blade went, and he leapt in her path, blade drawn.

As he stepped into Ella's path he felt a sharp pain in his back and fell against the wall for support, feeling sleep seep into his body, and fighting to stay awake.

"_So, this is it…a knife drenched in a tranquilizer?"_ His thoughts slowly became muddled as he took another sleepy step forward, the archer collided with him a breath later and they fell back, he held the wall for a breath and ran as Melody lifted her switchaxe and let him run, in favor of checking on her partner, and satisfied that she was still alive.

"That was…the only time other than my first sight of the Lagiacrus where I ran."

"From what you told me, the girl with a switchaxe was a pretty tough customer…you made the right call."

"Did I make the right one, though, if I had stayed, could I have stopped them, or would I have died…was it merely fear, did I at that point in time have the upper hand?"

"I don't know, but I'm glad you came back to me, I was worried, when the Guild told me our high ranking hunters were being targeted…I-" she cut herself off and leaned silently against him.

"It's alright, I'm here now." He said, sighing as she leaned up and hugged him, he returning the hug, "Julie, I ran because I was scared, there was that pesky voive telling me I might not be back, in hindsight it may have been a bad move, but I didn't think, only reacted, because I saw a future where I didn't come back, where you waited and wondered if I'd come back, and then you hear the news that Rick was killed by two ex-hunters."

"Don't say that!" the Guild receptionist said, shuddering as she leaned against his shoulder, "I'm just glad you're back…is this awkward, I mean, talking about death and stuff, and all I want is to not worry about it and enjoy our time together, I just don't want to seem unaffected, but at the same time…can we just pretend like no one's trying to kill you?" she asked, looking up at him, looking back at her, and he looking down into her eyes, while she stares into his, their noses a centimeter apart, and then, "Hey, Rick—whoa, sorry! Oh, oh, man, that just…I didn't mean to…you know what I mean, right?"

"Junior!" Rick gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, sorry, but now that you two are snapped out of…wherever you went, I have a question, does the Guild know the name of the faction trying to kill you?"

"Nope, but they are working on that…Junior, is your training complete enough yet to get started as a hunter?"

"Nope, they say I'm low on their list of priorities, they won't even look at me."

"Well, they do have a secret organization trying to kill them."

"One that's not as crippled as what you've done to the Brotherhood of Giggi, I take it."

"Not by a long shot, these people, so far as I know, are hunters, not with the Guild, I don't know who they're with, but I intend to find out."

"I'll ask Sally and Sammy to do some looking around."

"Who and who?"

"Sally's the girl who works as receptionist in Tanzia, Sammy's the other one who sends people to their deaths…I mean the arena, of course."

"Oh, alright…I actually never asked their names, they just told me they were sisters."

"Oh, but you asked my name?"

"Well, you were always acting carefree, so I decided we might as we be on a first name basis."

"Took you long enough, I've got to say."

"Just a couple days of your silliness, that's all it took."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"I'm glad that you do, but, uh, how did we end up in this particular conversation?"

"I just wanted to know what made me stand out from the other Guild receptionists, I got a satisfactory answer."

"Good for you…so how will you learn the identity of this organization?"

"By once more breaking the rules, I'll take a look at highly classified documents reciting the names of retired hunters, particularly young women, these two might have just left the Guild, if they just got out they'd be easy to find in the files, considering we list the names according to the most recently added, most recently retired."

"Forget what I said about the report you gave the Guild back in the dragon crisis, this time you'll most certainly get canned."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but last I checked, I was the one moving my arms and legs, and you to report for duty, the Guild needs you to lay low, and they have decided that the best way to lay low isn't by staying invisible, give them something else to look at."

"Distract them, how?"

"Find a base and take it out."

"Where would I look, and what with to destroy?"

"First, go back to where you started, the Guild will drop you onto an elevated terrain, from there find somewhere near where you started, but far enough to avoid catching any eyes, the Guild will retrieve you as soon as you light your torch, do that in the valley, that's where the Guild will be looking, primarily, but they have protocol to keep an eye out for suspicious activity anywhere near where you ought to be…you'll be given a schedule, if something bad happens, set out a barrel bomb and torch it."

"How many torches do I have?"

"There will be an item box on the terrain from where you were dropped, it'll have four other torches."

"How many barrel bombs do I have?"

"You'll have as many as you can carry, they'll provide before you head off and have more waiting in the box."

"They thought of everything."

"Except…if they don't see the first explosion they won't know you're in danger, I persuaded them to let you have some knives, citing that if you need to hit something from a distance, that you'd need knives, I wanted you to have something to set the bombs off with, I hope that'll be enough."

"Of course it will, when do I set off?"

"Tomorrow, they want you to hurry and find this group's base, when they pick you up, you'll give them a location for the base, and they'll handle the rest."

"You seem unhappy about it."

"You could get caught."

"As I could any given day…and I'm given this one, so let's spend it in Tanzia?"

"Sure…you're buying."

"Ha, see, we both know I'll be back, it'll be over this time tomorrow."

The chief never had trouble falling asleep, not usually.

Only two occasions: Once when he had heartburn, once when he had premonitions, which he said must have run through his family, or how else would his ancestors have known to put the Ancient Mask where they did, in a place where it might be found, in a place where it might be used, in a place where they could, by the hands of time, avenge themselves against the Ceadeus.

The chief only rarely had trouble falling asleep, heartburn, or premonition, he often prayed it'd be by heartburn, but he knew he was being offered a glimpse behind the curtains of time, an all too rarely did he receive such a chance, he now took it every time he was offered.

He opened his eyes and he saw himself, wrinkles on his face, become young again, at first he imagined it meant he'd somehow be given renewed energy, but as soon as he saw it that it wouldn't be so. He saw his younger self fight the Ivory Lagiacrus, and as he knew how it ended he turned around and saw what would happen next, but to greet him was a suit of armor without a face, it was Ivory Lagiacrus, and he wondered what that meant? Did this mean that, had he watched the battle play out, that he would have conquered the Ivory Lagiacrus, and that this armor without a face was a past that could have been, in which he didn't face defeat, or that Rick would overcome that which should have destroyed him? But then, who's to say the kid was wearing the armor, wouldn't that explain the facelessness?

The still night air was undisturbed, Moga was at peace, the gently swell of the ocean rocking the boats at the docks, until a lone voice shattered the still night air.

"Eureka!"

"So, you're Sammy, right?" Rick asked, feeling stupid.

"Nope, that's me!" the other Guild receptionist exclaimed happily.

"Well, now I know I'm right," he said confidently, and took a sip of his drink, "because, you're Sally, the very…exuberant one, and so cannot be Sammy, the one who is not so readily enthused."

"Ah-ha!" the one he called Sally said, leaning over the table to pierce into his eyes with her own, drawing a gasp from him and Julie, who sat next to him, "I knew that would trip you up!"

"Huh, that was pretty good, I won't forget that, Sammy."

"Actually, I am Sally, you were right, I only did that so on the next round you'd doubt yourself, and pick me to not be me, when I really am! What say you to that!?"

"Umm, you're definitely Sally." Rick said, smiling as he took another sip from his mug.

"Next round," Julie called out, "close your eyes, Rick." The hunter closed his eyes and heard the bench creak as the sisters sat up and sat back down again, "Alright, open them and point at Sammy."

Rick opened his eyes and held up his forefinger, smiling as he did so, one of the sisters sat upright and glared at him and he shook his head, pointing at the still one, "Sorry, Sam, but you never get so easily frustrated."

"Yeah, I'll have to have a word with my dear sister about her expressions, come on."

"Sorry, it won't happen again." She said as they got up and headed down the stairs, passing by an old man they didn't recognize, but he had a lot of energy, she was surprised to see him running, but even more so to see him jump halfway up the steps.

"Rick, I had a vision! In it an Ivory Lagiacrus appeared before a younger version of myself, but first he was old like me, but he grew young, and in their battle…I thought I knew the end, that I would flee, defeated, for the last time, but I skipped that part and got to the next symbol instead; what I saw next was a suit of Ivory Lagiacrus armor, it had no face in the helm, but I could tell it wasn't a man's blade outfit, it could only be male gun, or female, either blade or gun. I thought about it…and I think that the armor wasn't me, it was either you defeating something that should have finished your career, or it was symbolic of you being the Ivory Lagiacrus, and that your foe will make armor out of you." at this time the sisters came back.

"Which of us is Sally?" Rick held up a finger and the one next to her jumped, "That's overkill, Sammy."

"Ah, we need a new plan!" Sammy exclaimed irritatedly.

"Well, it's not like they'll find enough Lagia Sapphires in the first round to be able to make anything out of me, but I just thought that maybe someone like you, or related to you will do this, I mean you did see yourself turn young, maybe it's a person that reminds you of yourself back in your hunting days, or someone who looks like you in the face…you told me once that if we know what we look like, we know what the future beyond us looks like, maybe your great-great-great-great grandchildren?"

"Kid, I don't even have grandchildren…though I do have a brother."

"You what?! You never mentioned him that changes everything; he's the one to kill me!"

"No, he isn't my brother, I consider him as much, though, the Argosy's captain."

"Oh…I didn't know you considered him a brother, though."

"I'm not sure I know if it's the same, but in a way, I would have been dead long before I met the Ivory Lagiacrus if it weren't for him."

"So, you're here because he was there, that means…now it's complicated."

"I ruled out indigestion."

"What?" Rick asked, raising an eyebrow."

"Sorry, not important, but what is important is that I know it's a vision."

"Brought on by a bad case of indigestion, no doubt."

"You may be good at putting things together, but when you can't comprehend something, you've got to take precautions."

"I'm not saying I don't believe you, but we're not getting into family ties, we're going beyond that, and it's getting very confusing, what did the you that you used to be symbolize? You or a brother, and now, someone like a brother? At first I thought descendants, but his or yours?"

"That's it, my brother…_in law_!"

"Oh, I see, so…was he a hunter too, or am I going to succeed where he failed?"

"As it so happens, he is, and you will!"

"What, really?"

"You already succeeded where I failed, so it wouldn't surprise me, he failed at trapping monsters, always, he was impatient, his impatient was represented by the Ivory Lagiacrus, to think of it, I often referred to us as similar in that respect."

"So, I'm already pretty good at trapping monster, so I'm not sure what else we're missing, we have everything down pat, regrets, analysis of the regret's cause and subject, and that the source will be overthrown by another who was to the regretting subject as I was to you, and that person was your brother."

"Maybe his ancestor's aren't the only spirits talking to him." Sammy said, shrugging, "It's just a suggestion, buddy."

"It's real, I saw it…I was even given a token, in case I had my doubts, now I don't, but you seem to, I saw a Great Jaggi and a Gargwa, Rick, or, rather, me looking out through Rick's eyes, was carrying a bowgun, I don't know what kind, only that it was a light bowgun, because as soon as his finger pulled on the trigger, the Gargwa was pelted by a stream of steady gunfire, I don't understand it completely, but the Great Jaggi started to morph and it's frill vanished, and it became a Jaggia, and when I looked up, for whatever reason, I saw two birds flying off a branch, I and in one's beak was a ring, while the other bore a necklace in its beak."

"Oh, alright, mister, that's not fair!" Sally said, glaring fiercely at the old man.

"Yeah, now see here," Sammy started, tugging her sister away so she could have his attention, "I get it now, you've been spying on us, you know that ruby ring was mine, and that the necklace belongs to my sister, it was the day we moved here, our parents gave us this to remember them by, in case we ever thought of going back, that we were to remember that they were there for us, that they supported our decision and would miss us, but wanted us to do what we had to, which was to come here and help the fishermen who, at the time, needed hunters to vanquish several different aquatic monsters, you knew it."

"Then why did I mention the Great Jaggi and the Gargwa?"

"I don't know, to be all mystic about it?"

"Well, that would explain everything but the occasion, why would I lie about having a vision, realize it was brought on by heavy drinking, and then mask it with an on the spot fairy tale, which is somehow very symbolic to you two?"

"I-I…you got me there…sorry about that, I, uh, guess I ought to apologize."

"No need, I understand how that would have sounded, anyways, I still don't understand the monsters."

"Yeah, well," Rick said contemplatively, "there's still some of us who want to know how you skip a vision, that's just…why would you do something like that?"

"I don't know, I just thought I knew how it turned out, I could have been wrong…next time I'll finish the entire vision."

"Well, you say they're rare, so I'm just curious."

"I thought I was wasting time…but you're right, it didn't involve me, it's about you, and now the whole vision's a mess…try to bear this in mind, and if anything lines up, use your noodle and figure out why."

"You got it…well, this has been an exciting day, but now I think I should head home and get some sleep. See you later, chief, Julie, Sam and Sal."

"Cha-Cha, Kayamba, you guy's back yet?" the hunter asked as he stepped inside his house, "Where are you two? Probably still back in the woods, I tell myself, looks like I'm going to have to find them myself. Junior, where did the rugrats go?"

Junior turned around as the hunter stepped outside and shrugged, "They said something about finding the sister mask of the Ultimate Mask, and the debated over whether it was the sister mask, or brother mask, I asked if there was another, they said no."

"Those two…I don't need them making a fuss while I'm out on my mission anyways, so it's for the best. According to this schedule, Captain's ship should be back, I'll set him out tomorrow."

"I spoke with him earlier, he said he'd be ready to hunt some monsters tomorrow, do you authorize the use of you resources to send him out to No Man's Land?"

"Yep, thanks a lot!"

"No problem, we need them to stay busy…you know, I've been watching the flow of resources under various conditions, I think I could send them out for you when they come back, of course, you might be out of resources when you come back."

"Go ahead, if I run out then just stop the presses…I'll entrust you with this bit of cash to, I hired some hunters to try their luck against a Deviljho, I'm excited to see what I get back."

"Man, you're pretty tough to send them out to bring those kinds of supplies back."

"How do you?"

"Well, some say the Deviljho's scale brings misfortune."

"Don't worry, I'm well warned, see, I figured that if something merely misfortunate should happen, then it would at least not be catastrophic."

"Ah, there you, looking at the worse thing the best way you possibly can."

"I have been ever since I got here."

"And that time hasn't long passed, considering all you've done."

"I've got the village to thank for that, well, I'm going to rest up a bit, prepare for tomorrow's mission."

"Master Gigginox," a light, raspy voice tumbled out of the shadows, "it took me a long time to find this, the Deviljho Gem."

"Very good, we begin tomorrow, make sure you have the claws."

"Yes sir."

"One more thing, do the other Gigginoxes think that I'm dead?"

"Yes sir, you're as dead as Rick will be."

"Excellent, this time I see him…he will pay for what he's done to me!"

The Gigginox rose from his chair and pulled back his bloody hood, an orange pumpkin with fiery eyes turned to his servant, "We will find more of these later this evening, when the new recruits for the Giggi are present…how many have held their vows so far?"

"I saw another speak today…he won't break his vow again."

"Prove it." the servant got down on one knee and pulled a box from her robes, pulling the lid back she heard a laughter that sent caused her to become nervous, "You've done well, report to me when your siblings are ready for combat."

"They said they were."

"Check again, and then come back…tell them I'm not feeling well, and that someone should go and bring a hunter's carving knife back, and they will lead the group…unless they are uncontested, in which case, you are to pass them my approval for being brave, tell them they will be commended upon return, and then follow the little group…don't let them know it's you."

"As you wish, Master Gigginox, I leave at you request." With that, she stood and stepped out into an open room, "Everyone, our master wishes to know if we are ready for our mission, if not, raise your hand…silence…it is decided then. Wait…master? Yes…I understand…he wishes to postpone this meeting, the spirits that power him are trying to revolt, he is going now to combat and subdue them again, until then we are to wait for his return."

"Hold a moment, if I may speak!" a young warrior said, she nodded.

"Speak, then Albert, and may it be quick."

"Yes, of course…it is simple, one of us must lead the group, I know it's dangerous, but if we are disapproved of by our master, and face punishment, then just say that I challenged you all and took you down, and threatened to murder you all if we didn't go…and that by some miracle I didn't run away with…whatever we are being sent to obtain."

The room echoes with murmuring from the room, Albert could understand some of it. "Why does he think we're being sent shopping for Master Gigginox?"

"I don't know, I think he only wishes to be useful to our master, and stand out."

"It seems he has a death wish, let us grant it, that his words of challenge not be false."

"No, what if Master is yet here, then what will we answer?"

"The truth."

"Everyone," the servant of Master Gigginox spoke, "it is true, we were going to collect a rare material-"

"How come Al knows so much, did you trust him and not us!?"

"No, that's not it," she said, silencing the angry voice, "it is a night that many of you should know about, the night when new Giggi recruits are taken into training. Truly, I am ashamed that I work with so many who have forgotten where they come from…this day is the day when humans are taken and turned into the most deathly beast alive, what is more dangerous than a full-grown, elastic, poison spewing Gigginox? Nothing is…Albert, you are wise, but surely we couldn't disobey orders…he did say also that one of you could lead, surely you are wise beyond your years, everyone, follow Albert!"

"Ella, are you alright?" Melody asked, stepping into the room she was resting in.

"Hmm, I'm sore all over, that guy Rick's just plain mean." Ella replied as she lift herself from the bed, wincing as she rose to sit up completely.

"He, I swear to you, shall rue the day he became a Monster Hunter."

"I'm glad to hear it, but I—my armor," Ella turned back from the box she was looking through, "it's not here."

"Is that so? Then there's only one thing we can do, and that is to wait, I shall send for something light to eat, perhaps start with a salad, and then something a little heavier."

"You took my armor and stowed it away, out of concern that he's going to kill me, presumably."

"I know he's going to, or try to, anyways…there were two of us, against him! Just one man, and two of us, the best in the Insect Kingdom, couldn't challenge him without coming to harm."

"He fought with such emotion."

"He had an advantage, he had experience…I've heard of a camp from a mission that was recently abandoned, the quest was to take out a Great Baggi…it'll be cold there, but we'll be able to train there, and I hear the little monster's still there."

"I thought we fought Great Baggi all the time, when we were still hunters."

"Yes, but this one's stronger, older, and has a larger pack than most, and it's just roaming out there like it owns the place."

"We must stop it!"

"Yes, and we will, now let's go."

"If it pleases milady, I would like some rest first, I'm beat."


	2. On the Clock

**On the Clock**

Rick fell and crashed through the tree branches of the trees in the surrounding area. Upon landing he took in his location. He saw a blue chest, presumably the item box, and also saw a bed, as well as a red box.

"_What is this for? Do they expect me to deliver a message…I suppose I could write my plans and drop them here, then close the box, and they will know I interacted with this…and there's a slight chance that I may need them to know my thoughts."_

He went to the bed and looked under the blankets, finding a notebook, and then checked under the pillows, finding a small box, within we writing implements.

"_I'm writing this note to inform the Hunter's Guild team that I'm planning on exploring the region," _he surveyed the surrounding area and saw an open space along the river, which lead just pass a mountain, _"somewhere to the southwest of the drop zone."_ He stared at it and shrugged, setting the paper at the bottom on the box. As he stepped away he had a thought. Rick went back to the box and pulled the sheet of paper back out, closing the lid of the box on the paper and smiled, then turned and left the campsite.

As he made his way down the hill he saw a glint of light and lay flat on the ground, suddenly an arrow buzzed by his head like a Bnahabra.

"_Are they trying to lure me out, make me think they've found me? Or have they found me and merely overcompensated for distance?"_

Rick crawled along the ground and found it to be the latter, and swiftly began a retreat, careful to lead them away from the drop zone and out into the open fields.

"_I've got to find cover; they have the advantage right now."_ He risked a glance back and smiled as he counted twelve ripples at the surface of the sea of grass.

"_At least I know they can spare twelve men to chase an intruder!"_ Rick ran up to a tree and hugged it close as he saw that everyone chasing him were archers, some men, some women, all of them with a common pattern.

"_I'm up against a bug army."_

"Commander?" Melody inquired, as she stepped into a small room, where three heavily armored soldiers gathered.

"General, how does the day find you?"

"As well as can be expected, Ella and I will be out for some time, I want you to lead my unit in my stead."

"I would love the honor, your Ladyship, but Rick's been spotted in the fields northeast of here, Her Majesty the Queen has asked that you join the hunt."

"He really isn't that strong, one man against our twelve drone guards, with plenty to spare should one fall to Rick's blade, it makes little since to risk me again when all it'll take is a few of us to take him down, and move on to our next target."

"Her Majesty said that if you spoke so complacently, that I was to remind you to never forget your father's…good fortune." Melody gasped angrily and glared at the soldier before her.

"Those had better not be your choice of words, commander." She said before stepping out of the cell to head to the infirmary.

She looked around her at the cells that had been carved out of the stone, resembling a beehive in form and function, but none of them housed snakebee larvae, and the workers consisted of both male and female units, similar to the setup of the drone guardians who protected the cave entrance that lead out into the open fields where Rick now fought.

She clenched her fists at the prospect of facing him in battle again, and decided she would carry a switchaxe with a poison phial out to battle this time.

She pushed the slide door aside and stepped into the room, the sole inhabitant wasn't injured, simply resting, and Melody, after taking a brief gaze at her friend, decided it was unfair to drag her out to battle, and assured herself that she would come back from battle with Rick and Ella would never know until the celebratory feast. She smiled at the first pleasant thought to come from this war, the first thought she had of the end of this war.

She turned when she heard a light rustle and silently turned, finding that Ella was sound asleep, "I will see you again, Ella, and when I do, Rick's skull will be the only thing the Altaroths don't take away with them."

Rick was running from the large group of soldiers behind him, decidedly not enjoying the light exercise, and pulling out a horn, blowing hard through it and turning around to see how much distance he lost, and continuing on his way through the fields of tall grass, hoping that he didn't run into an archer, the thought then crossed his mind that maybe they weren't chasing him, maybe they were surrounding him, and at once ran back towards the hill he came from hoping that he would have time by then to set off a barrel bomb. He was close to escaping the fields when the grass was set alight burning him and everyone else in it, suffocating them with the smoke produced from the grass, he turned around and saw the culprit was a Qurupeco and immediately stopped in his tracks, the sight and smoke taking him back to the day a Qurupeco burned down the ship that Neko used to take them to the location for a quest, on which he was supposed to train a group of hunters and take down a Great Jaggi. He was broken from his reverie by the sound the Qurupeco emitted, his hunter's senses told him it was strengthening itself, and decided he was not going to stay around much longer. He ran as close to the hill as he could and set down a barrel bomb, and turned around, a soldier with a heavy bowgun unleashed a barrage of fire upon him, hitting him and his barrel with her fire rounds, blasting the charred armor apart on him. He turned around and fell, and from the smoke stepped the soldier with her bowgun, he was in a daze, unable to focus and barely able to register her presence, Melody knelt down in front of him, bracing for the heavy recoil on her weapon and stared down at him.

"I have to do this." She muttered as she turned to the sky and back to Rick, and decided to turn her fire loose on the Qurupeco instead. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Rick being helped up by a hunter in Hunter's Armor, female, she noted from the corner of her eye. She wondered briefly who Rick was, and decided that it was best to not know the enemy.

The battle with the Qurupeco was short, and when it was over Melody began the journey back to the cave, and noticed how far from the cave she really was. As she reached the tunnels of the cave she fell against the wall. The carapace of her shoulder armor was darkened and falling apart, she turned around and saw that others had armor in worse condition, and realized that on a good day the Qurupeco wouldn't have done this to them.

"Melody!" she heard someone shout in one of the halls, and looked around for the voice's owner, but collapsed before she saw the speaker, and wondered what Ella would think when she saw her, not knowing that it was she who had called out to the fallen huntress.

"Rick, are you alright?" he opened his eyes slowly and squinted at the sudden brightness, and set his palm against his face, pressing against it to alleviate the pain by even the slightest degree, and noticed his head armor was missing.

"My helm!" he gasped, as he found his voice.

"Settle down, there, gramps, Rob and I are right here, remember the mission? We're the same as you left us." He wondered briefly if it was his memory, or if he somehow sensed the somewhat arrogant smirk of Jasper as he tried to reassure the tired hunter, who tried to lean up and found that he was in only the coat and shorts issued to Guild Hunters for clothing, and immediately scanned the room for his armor.

"You won't find it here, buddy, Robin had to remove the chest piece before that gash in your ribcage cut your actual ribs."

"Actual, as opposed to the gash in my not ribs." Rick said, trying to enjoy the childish banter that was a trademark of their friendship.

"You catch on fast, old timer. See there, Robin, I told you he was as stupid as when he went down there."

"Jasper, I'm going to stomp you when I get out of this…cot, argh!" he groaned as the pain in his side became more aggressive, and began pressed himself into the mattress, as though he were attempting to suffocate the pain itself.

"Careful, Rick," the woman next to Jasper said as she pulled a spoon out of the jar of medicine in her hand, "try to choke this down, it'll kill the pain." She said reassuringly.

Rick smiled up at her and back at Jasper, "Come on, Jasper, if it doesn't kill me first, right?"

Jasper gave him a pained smile and nodded, "Yeah, but only if."

Rick grimaced as the medicine came closer to his reach, and he lifted his neck and clamped down on the medicine, and pulled back, slow enough not to tear the spoon out of Robin's light grasp. He swallowed hard, and then swallowed again to assure them that that was the last they've seen of the medicine.

"It should take effect soon enough."

"It stings my tongue, what's in it, jellyfish algae?"

"Parashroom, that should mostly dull your senses, which means you'll be unable to feel much of anything for a while, aside from the usual mix of herbs and mushrooms, that's it."

"So you've been developing new medicines?" the hunter asked, eager to be distracted from the overwhelmingly numb sensation starting to slowly spread through him."

"Yep, the Guild like's a lot of my work, last week Jasper was assigned to help me collect various components for any number of my various medicine hopefuls."

"And by that she means everything from Purple Ludroth poisons to Cyro Sacs from Barioths of the highest order."

"Good to hear…I guess you're waiting for my report now, huh? They can spare twelve guards on the outside of what I presume is a cave complex, they are mostly an insect based unit, but other than fanatics…I'm not sure what they do, but I'd bet my not ribs that it looks like a beehive inside, and that they function like bees to...mostly they had archers guarding, from a tactical standpoint, it makes better sense to set archers and gunners on the roof, unless they don't have one. The guards all attacked at once, and then more came out, this leads me to suspect they have an alarm they can sound before storming whoever gets too close."

"Ah, well, we didn't expect it to be easy, maybe it's just a coincidence that so many of them preferred ranged weapons."

"I don't know, maybe, but ranged would be useful if they had to hit their intruders from afar, I'm thinking they could be arranged or random, maybe they knew what we were planning."

"Well, that means they've got someone on the inside." Jasper said, annoyed.

"Well, if I know anything, it's that I will be carrying more field horns into battle with me."

"Good call, Rick," Robin said, nodding approvingly, "but where's your team?"

"I don't have a clue, they've been gone a while now, I first thought it would be good for them to be somewhere else, I thought they'd give me away if I tried to sneak in there, looks like I could have used their help, if they'd had been there, I would have stormed the whole place, those two…they really are indispensable."

"You just know their waiting to hear you say that, too." Jasper said, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"Another thing, that woman back there, she came all the way across that field, just to shoot the Qurupeco…was she trying to defend you?"

"I don't know, her name…something, I can't remember right now, but she's that one who apparently sent for me…the quest log is still being investigated, but it was the sign off was by someone calling themselves my old friend, so I figured it must have been someone who knew Jack, or was trying to copy his efforts."

"Is it possible, that, perhaps, this woman is in league with the Brotherhood of Gigginox?"

"No, she said they were disgusting, I assume she meant the monster, but maybe she decided that would make her more unsuspected, I don't know." He lay his head against the thin pillow he had been supplied with and closed his eyes, "Right now I think I earned some sleep...Robin," he raised his head again and turned to the huntress, "can you gather a lot of rocks, sap plants, exciteshrooms, spider webs," he leaned his head back, thinking of other supplies he wanted, "a lot of parashrooms and sleepherbs, and, uh, yeah, that'll be it."

"Sure, but what for?"

"I don't know, it might not even work…I need to sleep, but you'll have full disclosure, I assure you."

Albert lead his group to crawl along the building where the ceremony was being held, and on his signal the roof and walls were shattered by large hammers, and the insurgents struck, while Albert snuck across the room and found a box with nine dark green gems.

"I have the Deviljho Gems, but where's the tenth one?" his voice echoed across the room, the violence ceasing for the moment, while from the shadows stepped a Gigginox Master with one dark green gem in his hand, in the other a claw from a Gigginox.

"Is this what you're looking for? I'm sorry, but this is a sacred ceremony…where we draw power from the Gigginox around the world, to paralyze or poison, and you've no idea how much of that power we have tapped into."

"Oh, I think I have some idea." Albert said, throwing a bolt of lightning from his hand, striking the Master and knocking him to the ground, then bent down and held up the dark stone, "All who would join our cause, put down your weapons." A majority of the Giggis present set down their weapons out of awe, and the rest set their weapons down for fear of being outnumbered, "Good, now, my men, gather the weapons and tell the master that his ends have been realized, I will organize a base for him here."

Albert looked on proudly as his men left, but one shadow approached him, he didn't need to ask, he knew the presence of the one who now stepped closer to him.

"Juno, why are you here?"

"If Master learns of what your doing-"

"Will you tell him?"

"Never, but he will learn, and when he does-"

"I know, but you weren't supposed to see this…though I won't ask for silence, rather, prove to him your loyalty, tell him immediately."

"I could never, and you know that! Don't tell to betray you!"

"I have betrayed myself…you know I have a gem set aside for myself."

"Yes, but I don't care, just put it back, it's easier than all this sneaking around!"

"No, going to our—your master…that is the easy thing to do."

"He will try to kill you!"

"Let him try! Go tell him, it's easier that way."

"I just want you to live…I love you."

"I love you too, but I must do this…I have betrayed him, and by betraying him I have betrayed myself, you should hate me, despise me, make it easier for-"

"So it's easier for you to kill me when you give that gem to the Hunter's Guild? I know you're undercover, I have known, but I…I love you…I don't care about anything except how close you are to me."

"Are you real? I was briefed that you and everyone here are dedicated to serving those who give you…dreaded powers, you're given something close to immortality, and in exchange, you do your master's bidding…I was told it's the only life you know."

"It is, but please understand, what I've found is better than anything I've found here, their glass compared to this…colored glass that can be crushed into shards, compared to a gem of immeasurable worth…it's unthinkable that a choice should be made here, it's obvious that I'll stay with you…tell the Guild I was brainwashed, anything! I love you!"

"Fine, but hurry…and grab those claws!"

"They're Gigginox claws; they are used during our rituals to turn humans into gods."

"Yet one of these…gods has died of late."

"Yes, Jack, I don't know, maybe the rumors were false…I've never known one of our numbers to die."

"They don't make you gods, they turn you into monsters, they take you and twist your soul…do they actually put this Deviljho Gem in your heart?"

"Everyone has it in their heart, it's what heals us after we're cut open."

"You're all cut open with a Shadowed Edge?"

"Yes…there's only one way he could have died…Rick was also a god."

"Then let him give me strength."

"This is serious, if that's true then you're also in trouble."

"I don't mind, I've done worse before than smuggle my beautiful girlfriend into the Guild and what, let them recruit you?"

"That's the plan."

"I've done worse before, I was once a thief, before the Guild, I killed a man because I didn't want to face time, and that one man became four and five, soon I was lighting fires after I looted a place…and then I was about to die, cold and forgotten by everyone, a rich man took me in and in the dead of night, after I was healthy, I slit his throat and left for the Guild…no regrets."

"You would have been good in the family."

"Sure I would…anyways Rick is as human as it gets, he's run a lot of times."

"But why did he run, to save time or to save himself?"

"I never asked him but Jack help us if Rick is a god and finds out about it!"

Robin and Jasper found Rick sitting by one of the airship's windows, they had sacks of materials in their hands, and set them out before him.

"Now, Jasper began, "not to say I'm as good at this as you two, I'm no doctor, but I'm not stupid, either I mean, rocks, sap plants, exciteshrooms, spider webs, parashrooms, and sleepherbs…that's not for something in the books."

"Glad to see you're not completely in the dark, but still feel free to be utterly astounded."

"I'll only be so much as I ever am, Doctor Grandpa."

Rick smiled as he unfolded the bags and stuck the rocks to a gooey substance, and took some yellow lumps and purple lumps, and tied them together with the webs, proceeded to stuff the mix into the rock casing, and sealing it up, "There, a paralysis bomb, if we do this with the sleep herbs instead of with the parashrooms, we should get some sleep bombs."

"Wow, the old man does it again! See, I knew you was going to mix stuff, though I thought you were going to make a tranquilizer and use the exciteshroom to absorb the mixture…I think we could do that, too, though, right?"

"Jasper, that's a good idea," Robin said, praising her boyfriend's efforts, "then we can save the webs for later…and why not have two compartments one containing firestone and one containing a thunderbug?"

"Well, that may not work as well as firestone and flintstone, right, Robin?"

"Flintstone's expensive and hard to find," Robin said concernedly, "maybe we should use thunderbugs instead."

"It's still good to be thinking about this, though." Jasper said as he mixed the herbs and shrooms together.

Jasper pondered for a moment the spoon with which he stirred the mixture and wondered at how inefficient it was at stirring.

"Hey, Robin, this stuff isn't dangerous, right? I mean, we're going to be using this on people."

"It's good to be concerned, but humans have come into contact with more powerful sleeping agents before."

"Oh, yeah, the Great Baggi, I'd almost forgotten about it."

"Don't forget Qurupecoes, the more powerful ones that are listed at G-Rank can knock you out before you can say 'Energy drink', so watch out!"

"I imagine some ear plugs would fix that, though." Jasper said as he began stirring the mix with his finger, and suddenly feeling quite tired.

"Jasper!" Robin took the mix and watched as Jasper fell asleep on the floor.

"Well, I guess it's still going to work, right?" Rick asked, watching her continue to mix the ingredients together.

"I guess so, I'll set this over here and he can keep working on it, though he may have few bombs to work with, considering how much of the stuff we've lost."

Melody was watching Ella sharpening their weapons and checking their armor, Melody must have known she was watching, because she turned around and sighed dismally, "Please be careful…you don't know what he's capable of, he could have killed you!"

"Ella, you're right, I don't know, and I don't the only other last surviving member of my household falling to that monster…it's enough that my parents are gone now."

"I know, milady, but I'll not let them harm you-"

"The Hunter's Guild has known of our location a while now, I'm sure, but they didn't strike because they weren't ready," Melody said slowly, gathering her thoughts, "they are now, though, Rick has crippled our army, and when he comes back he will try to finish us off, we must be ready for then."

"He will not harm you, I promise you."

"Get out of here, you'll need to keep your skills sharp if we hope for a chance…the Insect Nation will heed the calls of our lady, she will lead us to battle and crush the Hunter's Guild," Melody closed her eyes and smiled, "then the Brotherhood of Giggi."

"I'll be waiting for you to be back, and then we'll crush Rick and the Guild."

"He's not the last Master Hunter."

"He's not going to live much longer," Ella promised, "even if he stomps us, the Queen will prevail."

"Yes…that Queen…it's only a matter of time until a new queen is born and starts another colony."

"Yes, it will be a grand sight…then the Swarm will spread across the sky."

"Yes…but the Dark Swarm will also have another Queen, and then it will be a battle that may destroy the world…Ella, I want to become stronger, this is a way, I'm sure, I will survive the oncoming battle simply because I was not able to fight it."

"Rick would make an excellent addition to our army…but the clock is ticking, we must destroy him now, before the Dark Swarm comes."

"Watch for the newborn Queen, when she cracks the shell she should be a lighter blue than our Queen, it is then when we should prepare for the Dark Swarm...good luck, Ella."

Albert stepped up to the desk at Tanzia with Juno, and turned back to her, "Guildmaster," he began, "this woman has been brainwashed by the Brotherhood of Giggi, but I was able to save her before they could poison her mind beyond repair, her skills are like none I've ever seen; she even slew a massive beast to obtain this!" Albert pulled out a Deviljho Gem and the Guildmaster grinned.

"A-yep, that there's a Deviljho Gem, she ought to be promoted…on the off chance she fought it alone?"

"Yes, sir, she fought admirably against her kidnappers…the poor woman had been captured since she was a little girl, trying to resist the brainwashing ceremony, se succumbed once, but when Rick killed Jack he must have sent a shockwave throughout the universe, because the hold broke on many people, and they had to be reinitiated."

"Well, that sounds out there a bit, but sounds legit to me, welcome, Master Hunter! I hereby bestow you with the keys to the Master's Headquarters…though, for security purposes we've been giving newly acquired Master Hunters as Squires, they're the ones who look after the Master Hunters' things, go on hunts with them…officially they protect and aid Master Hunters, but they actually are Master Hunters…clever, if I do say so myself."

"S-sir, if I may, she just got here, Master Hunter? I've been serving for ten years, I'm not a Master yet!"

"Well, she's the one who killed a Savage Deviljho, but don't be discouraged, it's just a rank, though she will need some armor real quick like if she's to be any good in the upcoming battle. Here's an entry for your Rookie's guide: a Master Hunter without the right armor is about as good as a muzzled Qurupeco!"

"Thanks, sir, I look forward to helping people now that my life is free of the Brotherhood of Giggi!"

"Such enthusiasm, I got a feeling you'll be right at home here!"

Albert smiled and turn to leave, Juno walking alongside him, "Laying it on kind of thick, aren't you?" he growled.

"Hey, I didn't ask to be thrown right into Master…level-"

"G-Rank, and yeah, you kind of did, never mind."

"Albert? I love you."

"That doesn't fix anything, you know…it makes it harder for me, you're a Master Hunter now; you've got full access to everything that Rick has access to…which might be helpful."

"Albert, stop scheming, you're the one who told me how much you loved me when you were flying through the ranks…I was in your place once, but now that the roles are switched, I feel like…you should be grateful! That report would have ended quiet differently if it wasn't for me!"

"Sure it would have, I would have ended up killing everyone there, and my informant would be different, that's the only difference."

"Albert…stop being so stupid all the time, you rescued me from the Giggi, remember?"

"I don't know…you're free now, though, and I feel like I've been a means to an end all this time…you can kill Rick, and Masters like you have more weight than Elites like me, so there…I'm worried you'll get yourself killed."

"I won't…I'll follow your lead until we're out in the clear, and then you'll follow my lead for a little while."

"Fine, you win." Albert said, a grin playing on his face, "I honestly don't know why I was so upset, I mean, it's not like anyone here can do anything about it once we leave this place."

"Exactly…but I guess it's in your blood, you're too loyal to this place, you even forgot that you were trying to betray them, you put up such an act that you had yourself fooled!"

"Yes, I did fool myself…forgive me if it happens again."

"Of course I will, I love you…and if I fool myself, you'll forgive me too, right?"

"I will, my love." Albert said, smiling lovingly at her. He saw someone looking their way and turned around.

"Shall we find something to eat?" Juno asked, noticing his expressions.

"Yes, it has been quite a journey; we have a bar and grill here, would you like to find a seat?"

"Yes, but we should probably start preparing for the day when we're called out to fight whoever's killing the Master Hunters."


End file.
